Shutter



Aug. 8, 1939. c. A. MGILVAINE SHUTTER Filed April 24, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 m wan m Aug. 8, 1939.

C. A. M ILVAINE SHUTTER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 24, 1937 Patented Aug. 8, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 6- Claims.

This invention relates to shutters of the Venetian type.

In tropical and semi-tropical climates where both ventilation and protection from intruders have been essential, it has been found that the ordinary Venetian blinds or shutters have not met the requirements due to the fact that the wooden slats quickly become warped and cracked, because of the heat and moisture to which they are subjected, metal parts quickly rust, and the ravages of termites and other insects soon render the structures unfit for use. Furthermore ordinary Venetian blinds do not have the requisite strength to afford protection against intruders nor to resist the force of high winds which sofrequently accompany the sudden storms found in the climates mentioned. Attempts have been made to substitute metal slats for wooden ones but these have been found objectionable not only because they quickly deteriorate from action of moisture, but also because they tend to absorb the heat, reflect light and heat rays, and thus maintain high temperatures within the shielded enclosure.

The present invention has for an object the provision of a shutter the slat portions of which are formed of tubular members made of fabric or other suitable flexible material, these members being removably held upon frames which can be collapsed when desired and portions of which cooperate to form a protecting grill.

Another object is to provide a shutter the slats of whichcontain substantially dead air spaces whereby conduction of heat through the slats is greatly reduced.

A still further object is to provide flexible tubular portions which can be renewed when necessary and can be removed for cleaning and repairing.

A still further object is to provide a shutter of this character which will be unaffected by termites or the like, the only parts requiring renewal being the fabric coverings of the slats which can be readily replaced at will.

A still further object is to provide a simple and efiicient means whereby the slats can be quickly closed to exclude driving rains such as accompany quickly rising storms encountered in tropical and semi-tropical countries.

A still further object is to provide a simple and efficient means for detachably mounting the respective slats whereby, they can be quickly and easily removed when desired, this removal being effected solely from inside the enclosure protected by the shutter.

With the foregoing and other objects in View which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claims, it being understood that changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawings Figure 1 is an elevation of the lower inside portion of a shutter constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged horizontal section therethrough, one of the slats being shown in open position, portions being broken away.

Figure 3 is a section on line 3-3, Figure 2.

Figure 4 is an enlarged section on line 4--4, Figure 1, a portion of the structure being broken away.

Figure 5 is a vertical section through a portion of one of the posts of the structure showing a modified means for operating the slats.

Figure 6 is a section on line 6-6, Figure 5.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference A and B constitute the side posts or frame members of the shutter. Each of these posts is adapted to be securely fastened within the window opening in any suitable manner and is formed preferably of sheet metal which will not rust. One member of each post is in the form of an elongated channelled strip l reenforced longitudinally by a stiffening strip ll secured to the inner surface of one side of the channelled member. The open side of the member [0, which is the side facing into the interior of the structure to be protected, is adapted to be closed by a removable plate I2 detachably secured by screws l3 or the like to angle strips or brackets l4 fastened to the inner surface of one wall of mem ber 10. One edge of plate l2 extends beyond said wall of member Ill and is formed with a flange I which laps the wall, as shown, Obviously by detaching each plate 12, access is readily afforded to the interior of the member A or B.

Journalled within the strip H in member B are superposed regularly spaced stub shafts I6 each of which extends a short distance outwardly from the member B and has a terminal I! which can be angular or otherwise shaped for the purpose of transmitting motion to a member fitted snugly thereupon. The other end of each stub shaft carries a pulley l8. A cord I9 is wrapped about each pulley as indicated in Figure 4 and is held to each pulley by any suitable attaching means such as a clamping screw 20. This cord is endless, forming an elongated loop one side of which is attached to the pulleys while the other side extends from the upper pulley to the lower pulley. The cord thus constitutes a transmission means' whereby, when one of the pulleys is rotated, the others will be correspondingly rotated.

As shown in Figure 4 one or more of the pulleys can be pivotally and adjustably connected to one end portion of a strip 2| the other end portion of which is anchored to the stiffening strip II by a spring 22. This spring acts as a counterbalance for overcoming, in part, the weight of the slat hereinafter described.

Post A, which is similar in construction to post B, has its stiffening strip ll, formed with screw-threaded openings 23 located directly opposite the superposed openings in which the stub shafts l6 are located. Each of these openings 23 is adapted to receive the threaded portion 24 of the stem of a bolt 25, the remaining or smooth end portion of this stem, which has been indicated at 26, being extended outwardly from the member A and in axial alinement with the opposed stub shaft 16.

Mounted on each stub shaft 16 and on each of the bolt stems are spacing washers 21 and 28 respectively. These washers are arranged between the members A and B and receive one of the slats between them.

Each of the slats constituting the present invention includes a bar 29 preferably tubular, having an opening 30 in one end for receiving the stem of bolt 25 while its other end has an opening 3| shaped to receive the terminal I! of stub shaft l6 and to fit snugly thereon. To each ed of. this bar is joined a plate 32 having an arm 33 hingedly connected thereto, as shown at 34. The outer or free end of each arm is recessed as at 35 so as to straddle and fit snugly against a removable bar or frame member 36 the ends of which are provided with stops 3'! which can consist of disks secured to the ends of the bar, although obviously these stops can be made integral with the bar if so desired. The body portion of the slat is formed of a flexible tube 38. This can be of a waterproof fabric or any other material that is suitable. The tube is so proportioned that, when the arms 33 are extended along parallel lines from their plates 32, they will engage the bar 36 and press it against the adjacent portion of the flexible tube, thereby to hold said tube taut with flat upper and lower faces spaced apart, as shown particularly in Figure 3.

When it is desired to assemble a slat, the plate 12 of member A is removed and bolt 25 withdrawn. The bars 29 and 35 are inserted in the flexible tube while arms 33 are folded inwardly toward each other as indicated, for example, by broken lines at the left of Figure 2. These arms are then swung apart, bringing the recessed ends 35 thereof into wiping contact with the bar 35 which is thus pressed away from bar 29 so as to draw the flexible tube 38 taut. This action will continue until the arms 33 are brought against the stops 31. The slat thus assembled is then inserted between the members A and B, it first being desirable to place washer 21 on stub shaft l6. That end of the bar 29 containing opening 3| is slipped onto the angular terminal ll after which washer 28 is placed between said bar 29 and member A and the bolt 25 is slid into the washer from within member A and into the adjacent portion of plate 32 and bar 29. The bolt is then rotated so as to engage the wall of the threaded opening 23 and to be fed into the opening 30. Thus the assembled slat is held in position between the members A and B. After all of the slats have thus been assembled and mounted, the plate l2 of member A is returned to closing position and the slats, which are of course parallel, are then ready for actuation.

For the purpose of, operating the slats various means may be used. For example, and as shown in Figure 4, a worm wheel 39 can be secured to one of the pulleys l8 so as to rotate therewith, this wheel being constantly engaged by a worm or screw 40 the stem M of which extends outwardly from the member B and has a suitable handle 42 whereby it can be rotated. All of the pulleys rotate together and it will be apparent that when the screw 40 is turned, motion will be transmitted through the wheel 39 and the cord l9 to all of the pulleys simultaneously so that the shutters thus will be moved simultaneously to open or to closed positions. When they are in depending or closed positions, they will slightly lap 50 as to exclude air and moisture.

Instead of providing worm gearing for actuating the shutters, a structure such as illustrated in Figures 5 and 6 may be employed. This includes a screw 43 mounted in a suitable bracket 44 located in member B and having a spool 45 secured to it. A block 46 is engaged by the screw and is slidably mounted on bracket 44 so as to be held against rotation. The cord [9 is suitably attached to this block at any point desired so that when the spool 45 is rotated in one direction, screw 43 will also rotate and feed the block 46 either upwardly or downwardly, thereby producing a corresponding movement of the cord with the resultant actuation of the shutters. Actuation of the spool can be effected by cords 47 wound thereupon in opposite directions and extending through openings 48 in the member B. By pulling one of the cords the spool and screw will be rotated in one direction whereas when the other cord is pulled these parts will be rotated in the opposite direction. It is essential that the means employed for actuating the shutters produce quick movement of the shutters because, as before stated, prompt action is necessary in order to keep out beating rains such as accompany the sudden storms common to tropical and semi-tropical climates.

As it is possible to make the metal portions of this structure from alloys which will not be affected by climatic changes nor by moisture, and as the flexible portions of the slats are renewable when necessary, it will be apparent that a shutter such as herein described will last for many years under all climatic conditions. Furthermore it will resist the action of destructive insects. The flexible slats, when constructed as described, not only prevent the reflection of heat and light rays but also present substantially dead air chambers which tend to retard or prevent the conduction of heat through the slats,

What is claimed is:

1. In a shutter of the class described, a knockdown slat including a collapsible frame, and a flexible tube closed and held taut by the frame, said frame including opposed bars, and arms hingedly mounted at the ends of one of the bars and foldable thereagainst to callapse the frame and tube, said arms being shiftable laterally away from each other to press the bars apart and place the tube under tension.

2. In a shutter of the class described, a knockdown slat including a collapsible frame, and a flexible tube closed and held taut by the frame, said frame including spaced bars, and foldable arms interposed betwen the bars, said arms being movably connected to one of the bars and foldable toward each other within the flexible tube to collapse the slat and adjustable angularly away from each other within the tube for wiping movement along the other bar to shift the bars and draw the tube taut.

3. In a shutter of the class described a slat including a flexible covering, spaced bars within the covering, and means movably connected to one of the bars and slidably and detachably engaging the other bar for increasing the distance between the bars and holding the covering taut.

4. In a shutter of the class described a slat including a flexible tubular covering, spaced bars extending longitudinally therein, said covering having open ends, and means movably connected to one of the bars and shiftable away from each other to close the ends of the covering and to press the other bar against the covering, thereby to hold the covering taut.

5. In a shutter of the class described a slat including a flexible tubular covering, spaced bars extending longitudinally therein, said covering having open ends, and means movably connected to one of the bars and shiftable away from each other to close the ends of the covering and to press the other bar against the covering, thereby to hold the covering taut, said means being movable toward each other and foldable onto one of the bars within the covering to release the other bar and collapse the covering.

6. A slat including separate bars, a flexible tubular covering open at its ends and extending around the bars, stops at the ends of one of the bars, arms hingedly connected to the ends of the other bar and foldable onto said other bar, said arms being movable away from each other within the covering against the first named bar and its stops to increase the distance between the bars, maintain the covering taut, and close the ends of the covering.

CLOYD A. MCILVAINE. 

